Reader’s Digest Gets Redesigned for 2014

Out with the old and in with the new as the good old saying goes. Reader’s Digest is starting 2014 anew in terms of its design but will it be better than the previous design?

Back in December 16, 2013 Reader’s Digest, one of the longest running and most-read magazine in the world has announced its move to redefine and redesign the magazine. The move of redesigning Reader’s Digest is to enhance the reading experience as well as to introduce the new digital experience such as a phone app to cater on-the-go readers. Apart from the new editorial design, Reader’s Digest also gave their website and logo a fresh new look.

The new Reader’s Digest logo somewhat resembles the old 1952 logo with differences regarding the alignment of the word “Digest”. Comparing it to the previous 2013 logo, the new one has that modern sophisticated look and somewhat a warmer feel into it. In our opinion, the serif font ultimately captures the magazine’s core mission which is collecting and curating entertaining and useful content for the readers. In an interview at SPD.org, Design Director Dean Abatemarco with the help of former Creative Director Bob Newman said that the inspiration for the redesign was the rich look of the past Reader’s Digest magazines back in its hay-days specially during the 30’s, 40’s and 50’s. Abatemarco and Newman teamed up top agency, DiMassimo Goldstein (DiGO) the team was able to come up with different elements such as modular lines, color palettes and typefaces that will be used for the new look.

Once done with the magazine, the team quickly worked on the digital version of the magazine. Unlike working with print, the challenge of optimizing the page and fonts for a great display and reading experience is a steep one. Abatemarco solved this through by opting for a single page format with scrolling text blocks instead of a snap page stack format. The result of this is a simpler reading experience without compromising their quality as well as the pinch-to-zoom feature that most on-the-go readers like.

The website was also redesigned and much like the style of the digital version of Reader’s Digest, Abatemarco decided to stay with the simple, clean and easy to use format. With the new design for all their formats, RD has also launched a new iPhone app which was developed with Studio Mercury and Brothers Mueller.

From the logo up to their website, we can say that the redesign of Reader’s Digest is perfect. The decision to make use of the old design and give it a modern touch not only pays homage to the classics but also a sign that the magazine really does listen to their readers. As said by Reader’s Digest Editor-in-Chief Liz Vaccariello in a statement: “They’ve told us what they love the most and we listened. From cover to cover, the new format is a reflection of our commitment to our readers and has been designed with them in mind, encouraging them to ‘Read Up’ at all touch points.”

What do you guys think of the whole redesign? Is it better from the last one or do you find the San-serif logo better? Tell us your thoughts at the comments below!